It was a month of low scores again. Clinic Plus shampoo, the best on-air advertisement, scored only 67 on the ad reach index to claim the No. 1 spot in the Mint-Synovate-TVAdIndx survey in August. With a brand recall of 92%, it scored only 73% on the awareness scale.
Also See Top-runners (Graphics)
At No. 2 in the survey, which gathers the voices of 762 randomly chosen consumers across New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore, was the Thums Up ad. Featuring the brand ambassador, actor Akshay Kumar, it scored 65 on the ad reach index. The ad seems to have been timed perfectly, releasing just before the second season of Fear Factor Khatron ke Khiladi, which airs on the Hindi general entertainment channel Colors and is anchored by the actor.
Also See Previous Top of the Mind Ad Survey stories
Also Read Full MintSynovate-TVAdIndx survey report
As our expert Santosh Desai says, “After showing us the 17 different ways in which Akshay Kumar can leap over/dive from/narrowly dodge different modes of transportation, the brand takes a break and begins where the other ads end.”
The third position went to Vodafone. Two ads—Videocon and Domino’s Pasta—boast of 98% brand recall, but have poor awareness scores—60% and 41%, respectively. No specific product category dominated the top 15 list in the month, as big brands such as Vodafone (with an overall score of 62) and Airtel (at No. 8) jostled for space with smaller brands such as Sleepwell Mattress (at No. 13) and Halls Mentho-Lyptus (at No. 9).
Nine of the top 15 ads also figured in the list of top 15 ads based on ad diagnostics, indicative perhaps of the fact that factors such as enjoyment and believability are becoming important for marketeers and ad agencies.
The Uni Homes ad tops the ad diagnostics list with a score of 89, bolstered by a perfect 100% on the likeability index. The Uni Homes and Cadbury Dairy Milk (at No. 4, with a score of 60 on the ad reach index) commercials also herald the festive season, a time when many brands launch new ad campaigns.
“A decent effort this time, even if not close to the highs reached by this brand in the past,” says Desai about the Cadbury Dairy Milk ad. Expect more such “festival ads” in the next couple of months.
1. Clinic Plus
Lowe Worldwide
A young girl is dancing, showing off her long, thick, beautiful hair. The secret to her long mane: the new Clinic Plus. The voice-over: With a new look and fragrance, Clinic Plus makes hair strong from within.
2. Thums Up
Leo Burnett
Actor Akshay Kumar is unperturbed when his battered car breaks down on the road; he is happy to have his Thums Up. A friend asks why he can’t drink something else. He gives her the Thums Up bottle. Once she tastes it, she is reluctant to give it back. The tag line: Taste the thunder.
3. Vodafone
Ogilvy and Mather